CCS boys volleyball: St. Francis, Mountain View top two seeds in Division I

Anthony M. Chen was right. After doing some thorough calculating, the Mountain View coach predicted that St. Francis would get the top seed in the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs.

Saturday, that is exactly what happened.

Fresh off a dramatic five-set win over Bellarmine College Prep in the West Catholic Athletic League tournament championship match Thursday, St. Francis received the top seed.

The Lancers were followed by a trio of Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division teams — No. 2 Mountain View, No. 3 Homestead and No. 4. Monta Vista.

“We’ve got this point system, this pretty intricate point system,” Chen said Friday. “I was just playing around, and it looks like they’re going to get us by .01.”

Mountain View won two of its three matches against St. Francis, including the two best-of-five contests. St. Francis beat Mountain View 2-1 in early April.

“A lot has to do with who you played,” Chen said.

The key for all the top teams is to reach the final. A semifinal loss means the end of the season. A semifinal win means a ticket to the Northern California regionals.

“I guess the semifinals are pretty important,” Chen said.

Mountain View completed a 14-0 league season Friday night with a three-set sweep of Monta Vista. The Spartans will enter their playoff opener at home Thursday against Serra or Christopher having won 28 of their 31 matches.

Chen likes the way his team is playing.

“I think the guys are ready,” he said. “I think when we went down South to Santa Barbara (last month), it was a good learning experience. We played some good teams down there, and it really taught us how to play again. The last time we lost was there.”

Bellarmine was seeded fifth and will open at No. 12 Wilcox on Tuesday night. The winner advances to play third-seeded Monta Vista on Thursday.

If Bellarmine plays as it did Thursday, it could meet St. Francis again in the semifinals Saturday.

St. Francis swept Bellarmine twice during the league season but had to sweat out the match Thursday.

The Lancers view that as a positive.

“I think if we had come in here and swept them again, I am not sure we would have the same purpose going into next week,” St. Francis coach Michael Rubin said. “So I think there is a lot of good that can come from a close game. Thank God it was a win, but I think a lot of good can come from a close game.”